


Christmas at the Charnwood Estate; or, An Exercise in Unconventional Feelings

by velcroboyfriends



Series: Days of Yore [3]
Category: American Actor RPF, British Actor RPF, The Hobbit RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Edwardian, Alternate Universe - Historical, First Time, Frottage, Hand Jobs, M/M, Master/Servant, Power Dynamics, informed consent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-09 21:20:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5555747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velcroboyfriends/pseuds/velcroboyfriends
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lee has for the past two years been the loyal valet of Richard Armitage, Earl of Charnwood, but matters grow complicated when he realizes the true depth of his feelings for his master.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas at the Charnwood Estate; or, An Exercise in Unconventional Feelings

Richard Armitage, Earl of Charnwood, was a man known for his thoughtful, fastidious nature. He was always dressed sharply, though with plain colours and classic lines that spoke more of the inborn style of old money than of a foppish nature. He considered before he spoke, gave thought to every side of an issue when making a decision about the borough’s welfare. Where other peers were beginning to run short of their ancestral hoards of wealth, Lord Charnwood spent frugally, living well within his means. He was a respectable man living a respectable life.

That was the impression Master Armitage gave off, at least. Behind closed doors, up in his quarters of the estate, matters were far different. Having been the Earl’s loyal valet for the past two years, Lee knew far too well how different the man’s true self was from the vision he presented to the rest of society.

This thought hit especially hard today, as Lee bustled about Master Armitage’s dressing room picking up discarded articles of clothing. Ever charitable (which was no act), the Earl always devoted Christmas Eve not to fellow nobility but to the least fortunate in the town that surrounded the Armitage estate. The man had scheduled his morning and afternoon full with meetings with the poorest families in Charnwood - he would make his rounds to hear wishes and requests from the families, and grant what he could, always including gifts of food, firewood and some clothing and shoes.

This meant that the Earl needed a look today that was not quite so Earl-like, simpler clothes - but still clothes that commanded respect. It was a hard line to walk, and so the early morning had been spent with Lee pulling suggestions of items from the man’s wardrobe, suggestions that would inevitably be looked at for a moment, then tossed aside in favour of another suggestion. The whole process had left the room a mess once Master Armitage had finally decided on a final set of clothing for the morning.

It was a mess most mornings, really - the seemingly fastidious Earl was quite slobbish in private, although Lee would never say so aloud. He merely bore that cross himself, picking up armfuls of clothes and tidying them away as Richard began to dress. Master Armitage preferred to dress himself for the most part, and so Lee had time to briskly file away most of the clothing left about before the man was done buttoning up his waistcoat.

“Here you are, sir,” Lee said as he picked up the Earl’s coat (a practical winter one, protection against the chill and against looking too rich) and held it out, standing behind the man so he could place first one arm, then the other into the openings of the sleeves. Lee lifted the garment onto Armitage’s shoulders, brushing his hands along the fabric of the coat to dust it off.

“Thank you, Pace,” the Earl said as Lee moved around him to do up the buttons of the coat. He could feel Master Armitage’s breathing on his chin, so close was he. It was a strangely intimate business, being a man’s valet, to a point that sometimes Master Armitage’s closeness made him shiver. He wasn’t always sure it was a _bad_ shiver - sometimes it was nice to have that sort of closeness, even with a fellow man. Perhaps even more so with a fellow man.

“Are you looking forward to the servants’ ball tonight?” Lee was startled - normally Master Armitage didn’t speak to him much, besides the polite pleasantries any man spoke to his valet. Never did he inquire about Lee’s feelings on a matter, let alone something so trivial as his excitement about the ball.

“I’m not much for dancing, sir,” Lee said quietly as his fingers pushed buttons through their corresponding holes. “But it was very good of you to organize a nice evening for those of us downstairs.” The yearly servants’ ball was another element of Lord Charnwood’s desire to devote Christmas Eve to truly spreading the joy of the holiday. It was a night where the normal social rules broke down, where servants could mingle with the nobles they served. It was an event most of the downstairs staff looked forward to, although Lee could not say he’d ever found it to be very exciting.

“Whyever not?” Master Armitage asked, looking genuinely curious. “You seem a graceful sort of man.”

"I was told once that a man of my stature shouldn’t dance, and I took the advice to heart,” Lee explained.

“Foolish advice,” the Earl responded. “You should dance if you wish to. Do you fancy any of the maids? You should dance with one of them.”

“None of them have caught my eye, sir,” Lee admitted, wondering at the turn the conversation had taken. It was hardly appropriate to be discussing such personal matters with a man so far above his station. But propriety aside, he found himself looking into the man’s eyes as he said, “I think it will take someone special to interest me, for of yet no woman has.”

Lee’s fingers stilled after the final button, lingering near the man’s waist. He took a breath before stepping away, going to the dressing table to get the cravat they’d selected: just a plain black one of sheenless gabardine. He slid it between his fingers, getting the feel of it as he picked it up, then turned back to the Earl.

Something had changed in the man’s eyes since Lee’s last declaration, since he’d turned to the table and back. He looked suddenly aware of Lee in a way he hadn’t in the past two years. Normally Master Armitage avoided looking at him, out of what Lee had always assumed was the sort of guilt that made the man throw parties for his servants and go door-to-door on Christmas Eve, the sort of guilt that was rare amongst the aristocracy.

Now, though, as Lee stepped close to loop the fabric around the Earl’s neck, he found himself looking into the man’s eyes while he evened out the cravat, marveling at the expression he saw there. The man was looking directly back, mouth slightly parted, eyes wider than usual. His breathing was heavy, his throat expanding and contracting against Lee’s hands as he tied the knot of the cravat.

Lee could tie a cravat in his sleep - far more often than he’d have liked to admit, he’d dreamed of this very moment - but now his fingers slipped and made clumsy errors, making a mess of the thing. He tore his eyes away and down to Master Armitage’s neck as he redid the knot, tying it slowly and carefully. All the while he could feel the man’s breathing, feel the warmth of him growing hotter. What on earth was wrong with him?

“Pace,” the Earl said softly when Lee was done, just as he was about to step away. The man placed a hand on Lee’s wrist, keeping Lee’s hand near his throat. The man’s eyes wandered over Lee’s face, as though trying to study it, to figure it out. Lee felt as though he could see the cogs turning in the Earl’s mind. Lee’s mind, on the other hand, seemed to have gone blank of any content besides what he saw in Master Armitage’s face.

“It’s… Lee, isn’t it?” the Earl said softly, and Lee nodded, licking his lips without quite knowing why. It felt strange to have the man calling him by his given name, too familiar, beside the fact that they’d been standing close like this for what now felt like centuries. Time slowed yet further as Richard’s eyes took on a sense of wild abandon and the man placed a hand on Lee’s jaw and leaned in and -

It was over before Lee had even registered the soft press of Richard’s lips against his, nearly chaste but for the slight wet parting of Richard’s mouth as his lips slipped across Lee’s and then away. Lee’s eyes were wide with shock, and as Richard opened his previously-shut lids and registered the stunned look on Lee’s face, the man’s face began to mirror it. Lord Charnwood straightened and stepped back, loosing his hold on Lee.

“I apologize,” the Earl said briskly, turning his gaze away from Lee and into the full-length mirror by his dressing table to check the knot on his cravat. “I have been too familiar.” Lee said nothing because he couldn’t speak, shocked into silence not just by the kiss, but by how his body had burned to press into it, to take more. And what if he had? Would the man have been disgusted? Pleased? Did he burn the same, or had it been some unusual expression of natural friendship between men?

“I believe I can take care of the rest, Pace. Thank you.” Lee swallowed, nodded curtly and turned from the room, trying his best to quell the heat that ran through his body.

\---

“Lord,” Anna groaned as she slammed the oven door closed on the still-underdone roast, “This dinner will be the end of me.” Lee knew he shouldn’t have been in the kitchen, but with Lord Charnwood in such a strange mood and quite busy with the day’s work, he’d barely rung for him all day. The Earl’s shoes had been polished quite thoroughly now, all his collars and shirts starched to suitably uncomfortable stiffness, his coats brushed clean. There was naught to do now but to loiter about in the kitchen and enjoy Anna’s company, harried though she might be.

“You’ll find it worth it when we sit down to eat it, I’m sure,” Lee said, trying to be reassuring, but the look on Anna’s face as she turned back to face the worktable and brushed her hands over her apron said otherwise. She busied herself with chopping the variety of fruits for the pudding that lay on the table before her.

“Be tasting all the imperfections in my cooking, more like,” Anna bemoaned. “I’m glad we aren’t allowed to eat the upstairs food most nights - I can keep pretending it’s good!”

“Your food is delicious, Anna,” Lee assured her. “We’re lucky to eat a luxurious meal tonight. Most noblemen aren’t so generous.” He looked over his shoulder before lowering his voice. “And perhaps tonight you’ll finally get to dance with young Turner.” Anna’s face turned red as a beet, and her chopping motions grew more furious.

“Hush, you,” Anna insisted. “Maybe you’ll dance with…” Her head tilted, trying to think. “Evie’s very pretty, isn’t she? A match for you, certainly.” Lee shook his head.

“She’s very sweet,” he acknowledged, “But…” He sighed and looked down at his hands. He’d been able to push thoughts of the kiss from his mind until now by staying busy, but now that he was at rest, even Anna’s conversation couldn’t keep them away.

“Do women…” he began, trying to figure out how best to ask the question that plagued his thoughts. “Have you ever… If another woman were to…” Anna’s hands slowed in their movement as she looked up. She bore the same cog-turning look as the Earl, though her eyes lacked his intensity. “Do women friends kiss one another?”

“Occasionally,” Anna said slowly, “On the cheek, or the like.” She tilted her head, examining Lee. “Why do you ask?” Lee felt like a fox about to be pounced on by a hound, looking up into its face with fear. He knew he shouldn’t have said anything, should’ve left well enough alone, but it was too late now, and perhaps Anna would have answers.

“If I… if a man were to kiss a fellow man, would that be… is that commonplace?”

“You should know better than I, dear,” Anna responded, but continued to look curious. “Is this something that’s happened? Or something you’ve been thinking about?”

“It’s happened,” Lee admitted softly. “I’m sure it was a friendly gesture - it’s Christmas after all, but…”

“But you liked it,” Anna replied, her voice near a whisper. She leaned across the table to get closer, speak more quietly, her eyes scanning the doorway to be sure no one was about to enter the kitchen. “I’ve heard of such things, of men who feel for men the way other men do for women, and the other way ‘round.” Lee had too, of course - he’d heard the scriptures about Sodom just as everyone had, but he hadn’t imagined they might apply to him, not to acts as simple and pure as a kiss from an honourable man.

“Is that… is it wrong to feel that way?”

“Me, I don’t think so,” Anna admitted. “If there’s more love to go around in the world, how can that be a bad thing?” Her eyes flitted to the door again. “But I wouldn’t go spreading the word.”

“Of course not,” Lee said quickly. He sighed deep in his chest. “So what do I -” Suddenly a bell rang in the main hall of the servants’ quarters.

“Pace,” called Mr. McTavish from the hall, “It’s the Earl ringing.” Lee felt as though his heart had leapt up into his throat to choke him.

“I’d best be going,” he gritted out, looking to Anna with an expression of nervous anticipation. Her eyes widened the way they did when she figured out a riddle.

“It was _him_ , wasn’t it?” she hissed, but Lee was already rushing out of the kitchen.

\---

Lee had tried to behave normally as he aided the Earl with his pre-supper bath, but the way his hands were shaking betrayed him, he was sure of it. He was sure, too, that the way in which neither of them said a word, the only sound in the room the light plashing of water with Master Armitage’s movements, was far from normal. His whole body seemed to pulse with anticipation.

His eyes seemed to have been exchanged for a new set with his freshly-grown awareness, noticing now the definition of the Earl’s arms, the graceful lines of his torso, his strong legs. He’d seen the man like this hundreds of times by now, but had never allowed himself to realize just what he was looking at. Now it was impossible not to notice.

“Will you give me my towel, Pace?” Richard asked, his first words since he’d gotten into the bath. Normally Lee would already have the warm cloth ready for the man to take in hand as he rose out of the tub, but he’d been so distracted that he hadn’t thought to fetch it. Now, though, something occurred to Lee, something defiant that, he thought, had good odds of getting him sacked but equal odds of getting answers to the questions that had flooded his mind all day - and somehow those odds seemed worth the gamble.

“Why did you apologize?” Lee asked, making no move toward the towel rack. He placed hands on his hips, making it clear that he was being obstinate, not oblivious.

“I don’t know what you -” Richard spluttered, but Lee shook his head.

“Why did you apologize for kissing me?” Lee held Richard’s gaze steadily, not deferring. Richard sighed and tipped his head.

“It was wrong of me to do that,” Richard said. “You are my valet, and I have a certain amount of power over you, and you are not in a position to refuse me anything, even if you want to refuse.” He sighed. “And I thought it likely you wouldn’t want such an advance.” Richard’s eyes looked afraid as he gazed up at Lee from the tub. He’d never looked so naked before. “I suppose you’re the one with the power now. A few well-placed words from you and my reputation will be soiled.”

“I wouldn’t soil your reputation,” Lee said, bending to kneel beside the tub. He leaned one hand on its edge. “And I wouldn’t refuse you,” he continued. “Not because I fear your power over me, but because when you kissed me, I burned for more.”

There was silence then, not even a breath, no movement, as Lee laid the tips of his fingers to the side of Richard’s graceful neck.

This time Lee was prepared for it when their lips met, not so chaste this time, their lips sliding together hungrily. He felt and heard Richard sigh into his mouth, then felt the wet warmth of Richard’s hand surging out of the bath water and onto the back of Lee’s neck, tangling up into his hair. When their lips broke apart, Lee half expected Richard to close off again, but he kept his forehead leaned up against Lee’s, looking into his eyes with concern.

“Are you sure, Pace - Lee, Lee, are you sure? I would never want to -” Lee cut him off with another insistent kiss, one hand clutching at Richard’s shoulder and the other grasping at the edge of the tub. It was an awkward angle, his neck growing sore and his back burning from the effort of keeping himself leaned over the tub, but the sweet feeling of Richard’s lips on his kept him from protesting - at least, until his hand slipped from its position on the tub’s rim and his torso angled sharply, making him cry out in surprise. Richard looked at him contemplatively.

“You could get in,” the man offered, “If you wanted.” Lee didn’t pause to consider, just shrugged off his long uniform coat. Richard’s fingers went to his middle, unbuttoning his waistcoat, and that was strange indeed, the Earl attending to his clothing for a change. Somehow it was even more odd than kissing the man.

Layer by fussy layer they shed Lee’s clothing until he was just as bare as Richard, and when he’d risen to his feet and was about to climb into the tub, he paused for a moment, looking down at Richard in disbelief. Richard mirrored the expression, gazing up at Lee’s body in wonder. There was hunger in that look, a need for more. The man grasped for Lee’s hand, and when their fingers made contact, Lee stopped wondering and simply _did_ , lifting one leg and then the other to get into the tub, sinking down to lie atop Richard, who wrapped his arms tight around Lee’s torso.

In any other circumstance, Lee would have been impressed by the wonderful feeling of a large bathtub full of hot water, a luxury they rarely got to sample in the servants’ quarters, but at the moment he was transfixed by the slick press of Richard’s skin against his, from Lee’s thighs which straddled Richard’s own all the way up to their lips, which surged forward again to slide together. And between, at their hips, he felt the firm softness of Richard’s hardened cock against his flesh, the pressure of his own pressed between their bodies, and that was nicest of all as their bodies rotated slowly and softly against one another.

“My God,” Lee murmured against Richard’s lips, overwhelmed by it all, but it felt wrong to invoke such a name at a time like this, while he was rebelling against everything a man of God would teach. “My Lord,” he corrected, and whether it was a synonym for a more heavenly ruler or the very corporeal man he held in his arms could be up for debate, but he knew he meant the latter.

Richard’s tongue slipped between Lee’s lips, agile and explorative, just as Richard’s hands slipped lower, gripping Lee’s thigh and pulling them together harder to rut against one another. The pleasure of it sparked through Lee’s body, but still he wanted more. He moved his hand down to rest against Richard’s hip.

“May I?” he asked, breathless from the hot steam of the water but moreso the amazing feeling of it all, and Richard breathed a ‘yes’ into the line of Lee’s cheek, loosening his grip on Lee’s thigh so that Lee’s hand could delve between them and wrap around Richard’s cock.

This, this was familiar, though strange at the same time, as he pumped his hand up and down the length of it, squeezing and turning and doing his best to figure out which motions made Richard’s fingers twist tighter into Lee’s hair, made him let out little moans into Lee’s mouth. All the while his hips moved almost on their own, rubbing his cock harder against Richard.

“Yes,” Richard gritted out when Lee swirled his thumb over the head of the man’s cock on an upstroke, his head tipping back, and that was an invitation in itself, urging Lee to taste the sweet skin of Richard’s neck, to graze his teeth against its graceful curve. “Lee, I-” Richard began, but Lee could already feel that the man was close, his fingers growing slicker from the bits of moisture that had already begun to spread out from the head of the man’s cock. He pumped his hand faster, the pressure of his teeth moving from a graze to a proper bite on Richard’s collarbone, and above him Richard cried out.

The man’s body went tense as he poured out over Lee’s hand and his own belly, his fingers clutched so tight in Lee’s hair that he knew it should have hurt, but instead it seemed to spark through him, speeding the rocking of his hips against Richard’s own. When Richard was done, Lee’s hand moved to brace himself against the bottom of the tub as he bore down, racing toward completion.

“Wait,” Richard said, “Let me,” but it was too late, and with two more tilts of his hips, Lee was pushed over the edge, holding onto Richard for dear life as the world went starry and his lungs went empty, the air pushed out of him by this, _this_ , whatever this was between them, and then his body was limp atop Richard’s, warm seed spread out between them.

Now that the tension between them had broken, Lee’s yearning sated, he felt stunned as he looked at Richard. It felt bizarre now, to be holding him like this in bath water that grew cooler by the second, but wonderful all the same. Richard’s face was stretched into the sort of smile Lee hadn’t seen on the man before, a look of being totally at ease.

Together they cleaned themselves up, washing away the remains of their act. They toweled one another off as well, drying off together. Richard slipped into a dressing gown that hung by the tub while Lee pulled on his trousers and shirt, somewhat rumpled-looking after having been heaped in a pile on the floor. Richard stepped forward and, though Lee made noises of protest, helped him button himself back into shirt and waistcoat and jacket.

Once they were both dressed, the strangeness of what had just happened felt even more bizarre. Lee stroked fingers along Richard’s jaw half to make sure he was really there and that all this wasn’t just some sort of fever dream. Richard arched into the touch.

“At the ball tonight,” Richard said, placing a hand on Lee’s waist, “Would you dance with me?”

“The others would think it a joke,” Lee responded, “In the best possible scenario. In the worst...” Richard sighed and shook his head.

“Then dance with a nice girl,” Richard said, “And think of me.” He looked into Lee’s eyes. “I’ll be waiting for the ball to end,” he added. “For you to come undress me for the night. Perhaps we may…”

“I would like that very much.” Lee smiled. Richard gripped his waist tighter, leaned into him, brushed his lips along Lee’s jaw.

“Merry Christmas,” Richard murmured, and brought his lips to Lee’s in a soft kiss. Downstairs Lee heard the sound of the dressing gong - it was time to get moving, to prepare for the evening’s festivities. But for one more stolen moment, he could linger in Richard’s arms and wonder what lay in store for the two of them this Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> It feels like forever ago that I said I wanted to do a Downton-Abbey-esque AU, and now it's finally here! I had to rush a bit to get it done, because my life has been very very busy lately, and I'm still not quite happy with the ending but I had to set it free.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy and hope you've been enjoying the RHC - it's been so much fun (and a lot of work, but mostly fun) to make it happen for all of you <3


End file.
